Tattoo needle case with needle head protection arrangement

ABSTRACT

A tattoo needle case comprises a seat including a front section, a rear section including a receiving space, and a breaking section interconnected the rear and front sections; a plurality of needles disposed in the receiving space; and a sheath sleeved on the seat for fastening the needles. Bending and breaking the front section will expose pointed ends of the needles prior to use. The invention can protect the stored needles, particularly the pointed ends thereof. Thus, the invention can completely and satisfactorily solve the safety problem of being accidentally pricked by the needles during use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to tattoo needle cases and moreparticularly to an improved case for receiving a plurality of tattooneedles in which the needle heads are well protected for safety purposeand others.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventionally, a needle assembly is comprised of a plurality of needlesarranged and fixed together on the major portion of the needle byutilizing a point solder technique or a stainless steel tube clampingtechnique. However, the pointed ends of needles may expose in eithertechnique. Thus, a person may get pricked if sufficient care is nottaken in operation. Moreover, accessing needles is not convenient.Further, its storage is disadvantageous. Hence, a need for improvementexists.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tattoo needle casewith an arrangement for protecting pointed ends of a plurality of needledisposed therein. Moreover, the present invention can completely andsatisfactorily solve the safety problem of being accidentally pricked bythe needles during use. Further, the needle storage is easy andreliable.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a tattoo needlecase having a needle fastening arrangement for retaining a plurality ofneedles in place.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tattooneedle case having a sufficient receiving space in cooperation with aneedle fastening arrangement for retaining a plurality of needles inplace.

To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention provides atattoo needle case comprising a seat comprising a front section, a rearsection including a receiving space having a predetermined height, and abreaking section interconnected the rear section and the front section;a plurality of needles disposed in the receiving space; and a sheathsleeved on the seat for fastening the needles in the rear section;whereby bending and breaking the front section will expose pointed endsof the needles.

In one aspect of the present invention, the cavity is a parallelogramand comprises an oblique side such that the pointed ends of the needlescan be arranged along the oblique side. Also, each of a front end of thecover and the breaking section is oblique and is substantially parallelto the oblique side. The lengths of the needles exposed from the coverand the breaking section are about the same after breaking the frontsection. That is, the prolonged portions of the obliquely disposedneedles can be supported by the breaking section and the cover. As aresult, strength of the seat is enhanced for accommodating elongatedneedles.

In another aspect of the present invention, liquid adhesive is appliedafter placing the needles in the rear section and sleeving thethermoplastic sheath thereon. As such, the fastening of the needles canbe successfully carried out by heating the adhesive and coolingthereafter.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, solder is applied sothat the fastening of the needles can be further enhanced by heating thesolder and cooling thereafter.

In a further aspect of the present invention, the metal sheath is put onthe seat. Next, pressing the sheath will tightly wrap both the rearsection and the needles. As a result, the needles disposed in the rearsection are protected.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of tattooneedle case according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the case of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a second preferred embodiment of tattooneedle case according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a third preferred embodiment of tattooneedle case according to the invention;

FIGS. 5 and 5A are sectional views showing needle arrangements oftwo-layer and three-layer respectively according to the invention;

FIGS. 6 and 6A are sectional views showing two configurations of coverin which needle arrangements of two-layer and three-layer areillustrated respectively according to the invention;

FIGS. 7 and 7A are sectional views showing two configurations of rearsection in which needle arrangements of two-layer and three-layer areillustrated respectively according to the invention; and

FIGS. 8 and 8A are sectional views showing another two configurations ofrear section in which needle arrangements of two-layer and three-layerare illustrated respectively according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a tattoo needle caseconstructed in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of theinvention. The preferred embodiment is comprised of a seat 20, aplurality of needles 30, and a thermoplastic sheath 40. Each componentwill be described in detailed below.

The rectangular seat 20 comprises a rear section 21 and a front section22 formed integrally therewith. The rear section 21 comprises aplurality of lengthwise, parallel grooves 211 with the needles 30disposed therein, a plurality of first risers 212 formed on one side, aplurality of second risers 213 formed on the other side, a cavity 221provided on the front section 22 with the pointed ends 31 of the needles30 disposed therein, a forward flat 222, and a breaking section 25interconnected the rear section 21 and the front section 22 andincluding a well 251 and two side openings 252 and 253.

The thermoplastic sheath 40 has a section of rectangle. Thethermoplastic sheath 40 is sleeved on the seat 20 after placing theneedles 30 on the grooves 211 of the rear section 21. The thermoplasticsheath 40 is adapted to tightly wrap both the seat 20 and the needles 30after being subject to heat. As a result, the needles 30 disposed in therear section 21 are protected by the thermoplastic sheath 40.

The pointed ends 31 of the needles 30 are completely concealed in thecavity 221 after wrapping the seat 20 by the thermoplastic sheath 40.Thus, the invention can completely and satisfactorily solve the safetyproblem of being accidentally pricked during use. Moreover, the needlestorage is easy and reliable. In use, a user may hold the flat 222 tobend the front section 22 until the front section 22 is separate fromthe rear section 21 at the breaking section 25 (i.e., at the well 251and the side openings 252 and 253). As a result, the pointed ends 31 areexposed. This process is quick, safe, and convenient.

Note that preferably, solder is applied around the seat 20 so that thefastening of the needles 30 can be successfully carried out by heatingthe solder and cooling thereafter.

Alternatively, tattoo needle case of the invention can be comprised of aseat 20 and a metal sheath 50 (see FIG. 8). The sheath 50 is sleeved onthe rear section 21. Next, pressing the sheath 50 will tightly wrap boththe rear section 21 and the needles 30. As a result, the needles 30disposed in the rear section 21 are protected.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a tattoo needle case constructed inaccordance with a second preferred embodiment of the invention. Thesecond preferred embodiment substantially has same structure as thefirst preferred embodiment. The characteristics of the second preferredembodiment are detailed below. The case comprises a seat 20, a pluralityof needles 30, and a thermoplastic sheath 40.

The rectangular seat 20 comprises a rear section 21, a front section 22formed integrally therewith, and a cover 23 put on the rear section 21to form a receiving space 24 therebetween. The rectangular cover 23comprises a plurality of lengthwise, parallel grooves 231 on itsunderside, a plurality of first flanges 232 formed on one side, and aplurality of second flanges 233 formed on the other side. Similarly, therear section 21 comprises a plurality of parallel grooves 211 with theneedles 30 disposed therein, a plurality of first risers 212 formed onone side, a plurality of second risers 213 formed on the other side, acavity 221 provided on the front section 22 with the pointed ends 31 ofthe needles 30 disposed therein, a forward flat 222, and a breakingsection 25 interconnected the rear section 21 and the front section 22and including a well 251 and two side openings 252 and 253. The grooves231 are adapted to engage with upper portions of the needles 30 when thecover 23 is put on the rear section 21. As such, the needles 30 aretightly retained by both the cover 23 (i.e., the grooves 231) and therear section 21 (i.e., the grooves 211). Note that each of the receivingspace 24 and the cavity 221 has a sufficient height so as tosuccessfully store the needles 30 therein.

The thermoplastic sheath 40 has a section of rectangle. Thethermoplastic sheath 40 is sleeved on the seat 20 after putting thecover 23 on the rear section 21 and placing the needles 30 in thegrooves 211 in the receiving space 24 thereafter. The thermoplasticsheath 40 is adapted to tightly wrap both the seat 20 and the needles 30after being subject to heat. As a result, the needles 30 disposed in therear section 21 are protected by the thermoplastic sheath 40. Moreover,preferably, liquid adhesive is applied after placing the needles 30 inthe rear section 21 and sleeving the thermoplastic sheath 40 thereon. Assuch, the fastening of the needles 30 can be successfully carried out byheating the adhesive and cooling thereafter. Still preferably, solder isapplied so that the fastening of the needles 30 can be further enhancedby heating the solder and cooling thereafter.

Likewise, the pointed ends 31 of the needles 30 are completely concealedin the cavity 221 after wrapping the seat 20 by the thermoplastic sheath40. Thus, the invention can completely and satisfactorily solve thesafety problem of being accidentally pricked during use. Moreover, theneedle storage is easy and reliable. In use, a user may hold the flat222 to bend the front section 22 until the front section 22 is separatefrom the rear section 21 at the breaking section 25 (i.e., at the well251 and the side openings 252 and 253). As a result, the pointed ends 31are exposed. This process is quick, safe, and convenient.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a tattoo needle case constructed inaccordance with a third preferred embodiment of the invention. The thirdpreferred embodiment substantially has same structure as the secondpreferred embodiment. The characteristics of the third preferredembodiment are detailed below. The cavity 221 is a parallelogram andcomprises an oblique side 221 a such that the pointed ends 31 of theneedles 30 can be arranged along the oblique side 221 a. Each of thefront end of the cover 23′ and the breaking section 25′ is oblique andis substantially parallel to the side 221 a. The lengths of the needles30′ exposed from the cover 23′ and the breaking section 25′ are aboutthe same after breaking the front section 22. In other words, theprolonged portions of the obliquely disposed needles 30′ can besupported by the breaking section 25′ and the front end of the cover 23′by the provisions of the breaking section 25′ and the cover 23′. As aresult, strength of the seat 20 can be enhanced for accommodatingelongated needles. Note that each of the front end of the cover 23′ andthe breaking section 25′ can be formed as a curve or arc depending onapplications. Also, the pointed ends 31 of the needles 30′ are in closeproximity with the curve or arc.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 5A, needles 30 are arranged in two layers andthree layers in the receiving space 24 formed by the rear section 21 andthe cover 23 respectively. The two-layer or three-layer arrangement canprovide a convenient and quick use of the needles.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 6A, the grooves 231 of the cover 23 are engagedwith the corresponding grooves 211 of rear section 21. Also, the cover23 are spaced apart from the rear section 21 by the side flanges 232. Ina mounting operation, first place the needles 30 in the receiving space24 and next put the cover 23 thereon for concealing the needles 30.Next, put the thermoplastic sheath 40 thereon and heat the same forfastening.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 7A, needles 30 are arranged in two layers andthree layers in the rear section 21 respectively. Next, put thethermoplastic sheath 40 thereon and heat the same for fastening both therear section 21 and the needles.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 8A, needles 30 are arranged in two layers andthree layers in the rear section 21 respectively. Next, put the metalsheath 50 thereon. Next, pressing the sheath 50 will tightly wrap boththe rear section 21 and the needles 30. As a result, the needles 30disposed in the rear section 21 are protected.

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means ofspecific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could bemade thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from thescope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.

1. A tattoo needle case comprising: a seat comprising a front section, arear section including a receiving space having a predetermined height,and a breaking section interconnected the rear section and the frontsection; a plurality of needles disposed in the receiving space; and asheath sleeved on the seat for fastening the needles in the rearsection; whereby bending and breaking the front section will exposepointed ends of the needles.
 2. The tattoo needle case of claim 1,wherein the rear section comprises a plurality of lengthwise, parallelgrooves for receiving the needles.
 3. The tattoo needle case of claim 1,wherein the breaking section comprises a well and two side openings. 4.The tattoo needle case of claim 1, wherein the front section comprises acavity for receiving the pointed ends of the needles.
 5. The tattooneedle case of claim 4, wherein the cavity is a parallelogram andcomprises an oblique side such that the pointed ends of the needles areadapted to arrange along the oblique side.
 6. The tattoo needle case ofclaim 1, wherein the sheath is formed of thermoplastic material suchthat heating the thermoplastic sheath will tightly wrap both the seatand the needles.
 7. The tattoo needle case of claim 1, wherein thesheath is formed of metal such that pressing the metal sheath willtightly wrap both the rear section and the needles.
 8. The tattoo needlecase of claim 1, wherein the seat further comprises a cover including aplurality of lengthwise, parallel grooves on its underside, the groovesof the cover being engaged with the grooves of the rear section when thecover is put on the rear section for retaining the needles therebetween.